The AMD A10-5800K is designated as an "Accelerated Processing Unit," which basically denotes a CPU coupled with integrated graphics. This particular SKU is the A-series flagship for 2012. CPU performance is on par with the FX 4170, but of course the A10-5800K also packs integrated graphics.

The A10-5800K features HD 7660D graphics, but although the HD 7000 designation might suggest it features the latest tech, it is actually based on AMD’s Northern Islands architecture, used on the HD 6000 series. However, although the HD 7660D is not a Southern Islands part, it is still the fastest integrated GPU around.

Pitted against Llano’s HD 6550D, the HD 7660D delivers up to 33 percent performance boost. However, it is still just an integrated solution, so it doesn’t have enough muscle for 1080p gaming. Older games, casual titles and even some less demanding current-gen games should be playable though. So for casual gamers who want to avoid the cost and noise involved in discrete graphics, the HD 7660D should be good enough, almost as good as entry level discrete cards.

However, Trinity’s new Pildedriver cores don’t offer the same improvements over Llano. In some CPU tests the old A8-3870K even outperformed the A10-5800K, but on the whole the latter is somewhat faster.

Since memory speed has a significant effect on overall performance, our advice is to go for 1866MHz modules, or at least 1600MHz. With record low memory prices, investing in somewhat faster modules could result in significant performance gains at a very low cost.

Speaking of costs, the A10-5800K can be yours for about €110 in Euroland, or $120 in the US. Coupled with a mid-range FM2 motherboard, the platform cost is still relatively low, under €/$200 in most cases. What’s more, even low-end boards are feature packed, which is not always the case with Intel motherboards in this price range. Bear in mind that quad-core Trinity chips are also available in 65W flavor, which was not always the case with Llano. The bad news? Well, owners of FM1 boards won’t be able to upgrade their Llanos.

Overall Trinity is a step in the right direction. It’s not revolutionary, it’s basically Llano done right, and it still offers unbeatable value for money.